United States v. Slornaveed Patolillo Gonzalez, 701 F. App'x 582

Gonzalez, a noncitizen, was deported in 2005 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault under Arizona law and serving state prison time.
Years later, after unlawfully reentering the U.S., he was indicted in 2015 for illegal reentry after deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a).
Gonzalez moved to dismiss the § 1326 indictment, arguing his prior deportation was fundamentally unfair because the state aggravated-assault conviction was not an "aggravated felony."
The district court denied the motion; Gonzalez pleaded guilty to the § 1326 charge while preserving appeal of the denial and received a 41-month sentence.
At sentencing the court applied a 16-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) based on his prior conviction being a "crime of violence."
On appeal, the Ninth Circuit reviewed de novo whether Gonzalez’s prior conviction qualified as a crime of violence/aggravated felony and whether the enhancement was properly applied.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Gonzalez’s prior aggravated-assault conviction was an "aggravated felony" (crime of violence) that rendered his deportation valid	Gonzalez: the plea paperwork listed different statutes, so he was not convicted of the subsection that qualifies as a crime of violence; therefore deportation was unfair and indictment should be dismissed	Government: plea and judgment refer to Count 2 (aggravated assault); court may look to the indictment to identify the statutes to which he pleaded guilty; Count 2 charged a § 13‑1204(A)(2)/§ 13‑1203(A)(2) offense that is a crime of violence	Court: Look-through to Count 2 is proper; conviction qualifies as a crime of violence and an aggravated felony; motion to dismiss denied
Whether the 16-level U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 enhancement for a prior "crime of violence" was properly applied	Gonzalez: (implicitly) enhancement improper if prior conviction not a crime of violence	Government: prior conviction under Arizona statutes qualifies as a crime of violence for § 2L1.2 purposes	Court: Enhancement properly applied because conviction was for aggravated assault under the cited Arizona statutes and qualifies as a crime of violence

United States v. Vega-Ortiz, 822 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir.) (standard of review for § 1326 dismissal based on due process defects)
United States v. Alvarado-Pineda, 774 F.3d 1198 (9th Cir.) (review standard for dismissal motions in § 1326 cases)
United States v. Rocha-Alvarado, 843 F.3d 802 (9th Cir.) (de novo review whether prior conviction is a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2)
United States v. Cabrera-Perez, 751 F.3d 1000 (9th Cir.) (holding that convictions under A.R.S. § 13-1204(A)(2) incorporating § 13-1203(A)(2) are crimes of violence)
United States v. Torre-Jimenez, 771 F.3d 1163 (9th Cir.) (permitting look-through of plea/judgment to indictment to identify statutes of conviction)
United States v. Sahagun-Gallegos, 782 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir.) (holding Arizona aggravated assault qualifies as a crime of violence for § 2L1.2 enhancement)
United States v. Ceron-Sanchez, 222 F.3d 1169 (9th Cir.) (precedent on aggravated-assault classifications)
Fernandez-Ruiz v. Gonzales, 466 F.3d 1121 (9th Cir.) (en banc decision discussed in relation to Ceron-Sanchez)